setting

I’ve spent the past week in Savannah, GA (at least in my head I have). I’m already six chapters into my new series and keeping pace at a chapter a day. My goal is to finish in November or December for a January release date. I’ll keep you posted.

One of Savannah’s beautiful historic squares.

But why Savannah? Why do writers choose one specific setting over another? For me setting is another factor that shapes and adds depth to whatever original idea I had for a story. For example, my first two novels are set around St. Louis, Missouri. I grew up there so it was an easy first choice but the setting was still a conscious choice that I used to influence the story and characters. Being from there I knew specific traits and idiosyncrasies of the locals that I could incorporate into the storyline to add depth and help shape my characters. St. Louis is a predominantly Catholic area (more so when I lived there). The bulk of the population in the suburb I grew up in was either of German, French or Irish descent. I used the German family qualities I knew to shape my main character Ben. He is close to his German grandparents and acknowledges his roots by occasionally being involved in German festivals and attending their German-Catholic church.

I also wanted the very middle-America feel of St. Louis. People from that area don’t have a strong accent. They are somewhere between Chicago’s northern dialect and Memphis’s deep Southern twang. The “middle of nowhere” feeling we all joked about when living there worked perfectly with my story. I wanted to create an amazing love story in the most ordinary of places and circumstances.

So now I’m in Savannah with my new character Vivienne. I’ve never lived in Savannah, but I fell in love with it on a trip and did my research before using it in this new series. Savannah gives me a perfect combination of contrasting moods. It’s the laid-back, friendly, Old South mixed with a rising hipster art vibe. It’s cotillians meet college bars. It’s a town that loves its history while welcoming new, different, and unique ideas.

Let’s #LiveLikeViv in the world of private Jets

It’s also a hub for the private jet industry and the career path for the heroine of this series, Vivienne Ramsey. I’m using my insider knowledge of this amazingly small, mostly male, posh international business to create Vivienne’s rise to the top. And just like Savannah, she’s all about contrasts and contradictions. She’s the quiet, introverted, girly girl who surprises everyone when she bursts through the glass ceiling of the good-old-boys-club in private jet sales. I might physically be in Memphis today, but my head will be in Savannah with Vivienne. I can’t wait for you to join me there. If you would like me to send you a reminder when the series is released (and a special discount) add your email address to my mailing list today. Together we can #LiveLikeViv and hop a jet to Savannah.